B 1.2. Nevertheless, could the expansion threaten areas where important biomes are intended to be preserved?
The expansion of sugar-cane growing over the past 25 years essentially took place in Brazils Center-South region, in areas far away from the current biomes of the Amazon Rain Forest, the Atlantic Forest and the Pantanal. From 1992 until 2003, almost all of the expansion (94 percent) in the Center-South region occurred in existing units; new farming frontiers were involved to a much lesser extent. In So Paulo, the expansion has been based on the replacement of other crops and pastures. Today as well as over the next few years, the expansion will continue to take place in the Center-South region, with an emphasis on the West of So Paulo, in the regions near the state line of Mato Grosso, and some areas in the State of Gois; and mostly in areas of degraded pastures or fields. In the past, those areas occupied part (over the years, since the discovery of Brazil and, most certainly, much earlier than the introduction of PROLCOOL) of the Atlantic Forest and Savannahs. No expansion to any for
